Denny's, the world's largest full-service family dining chain, announced plans on Tuesday to open 30 new restaurants in the Middle East.

The food retailer said it has signed a franchise agreement with Advance Investment, an affiliated entity of Food Quest Restaurant Management, for the development of the new Denny's restaurants in nine countries over the next 10 years.

It said Advance Investment has the exclusive rights to open restaurants in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Egypt, Lebanon, Iraq and Jordan.

The first Denny's restaurant is slated to open doors to diners in the UAE in 2015, a statement said.

Fareed Bilbeisi, chairman of the board of Food Quest, said: "We are proud to be associated with the Denny's brand and look forward to developing it in the Middle East. This is a great addition to the management portfolio of Food Quest covering the family dining segment."

John Miller, Denny's president and CEO, added: "We are making significant progress expanding the Denny's brand internationally with the right franchise partners and this is further evidence of our momentum.

"This significant development agreement is our first major expansion in the Middle East and expands Denny's unopened international pipeline to over 60 restaurants."

Denny's opened its first international restaurant in 1966 in Acapulco, Mexico and has since expanded its footprint to 11 countries and US territories, including 100 locations in Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Curaçao, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guam, Honduras, Mexico, Puerto Rico and New Zealand.

Denny's currently has almost 1,700 franchised, licensed, and company restaurants around the world with combined sales of $2.5 billion.